Next Rounds of NAFTA Talks are Already Scheduled

The first round of talks to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement wrapped up Sunday and the next two rounds are already on the schedule.

U.S., Canadian and Mexican officials did not offer details on the substance of the five-day talks last week.

Politico’s Morning Ag Report says negotiators will head to Mexico City for the next round of talks September 1-5 and to a yet undetermined location in Canada September 23-27. Only 11 days go by between the first and second round of talks. The quick turnaround likely is a result of an aggressive pace that all three countries’ negotiators have expressed an interest in. Officials have publicly expressed a hoped-for deadline of wrapping negotiations later this year or early next year.

A source told Politico that officials have been much more firm in private about wanting the talks done by December. To help accomplish that desired goal, officials have requested that all texts be presented by the end of September, which should give all three countries sufficient time to review each other’s proposals and move more quickly to a final agreement.